Dark Sun
by Xlo
Summary: Aang, Sokka, and Katara find themselves in an Earth Kingdom village. There, they meet another airbender named Li! But when Sokka catches her shape shifting, she's forced into telling him everything. That's when Zuko attacks.
1. Not Alone

**Dark Sun**

I don't claim "Avatar: The Last Airbender" characters or any other pieces of their property, but I do claim Li, Kanan, Kai, Chao, and Mistia, Of course, those are my claims for the chapter. I don't want to give away the story! Anyway, on to the story!

* * *

Sokka's stomach roared. "AUGH! I'M SO HUNGRY!" he moaned. Katara shot an angry glare at him.

"Would you please shut up? We're going to land soon, okay?" Katara snapped.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pastry was flung onto Appa's saddle. It was warm and it smelled delicious. Sokka stared at it for a moment in disbelief but then jumped to grab it. Momo took it just before he did, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Momo! What did you do that for?" Sokka yelled at him. Then another pastry was flung onto the saddle and it bounced on Sokka's head. He got that one and stuffed it into his mouth. He looked over the edge of the saddle, hoping for another one. He could see somebody standing on their roof. They had a slingshot, and was loading another pastry. Katara glanced down as well.

"Aang, land over at that house! There's free food!" Sokka told Aang.

"Free food? Alright!" Aang said. "Appa! Yip Yip!" Aang pulled Appa's reigns to head for the house with somebody standing on it.

When they landed, the person who had been standing on the roof was gone. Sokka jumped off of Appa and looked around. "Hey, where'd they go? Where's the food!"

Suddenly, four kids jumped onto the roofs of the houses. They all held slingshots, aimed at Aang, Katara, and Sokka. They had nuts, pebbles, or any other small projectile in their slingshots.

"Hold your fire!" called a voice from behind one of the houses. The kids shot their ammunition at the ground, and held their slingshots still. A girl walked out from behind the house with an angry look, but when she saw Aang and Appa, it changed to a look of astonishment. "You! You're an airbender!" she cried. Aang almost fell at the sudden outburst. "I thought that I was the only…" she trailed off. She stared at the ground in her astonishment.

One of the kids on the roof jumped down. She ran over to the girl who was apparently their leader. "Li, are you alright? Li?" She reached to put a hand on Li's shoulder, but Li wasn't there anymore. She'd jumped onto Aang, squeezing his lungs.

"Aang! I missed you so much! I thought you were dead!" she cried, tears coming out of her eyes from her overwhelming excitement. The three other kids jumped off the houses and had to pull Li off of Aang. Aang fell to the ground, coughing. Katara rushed over to him.

"Aang, breathe! Breathe!" Katara cried, trying to get Aang to breathe. The kids had to hold Li back from grabbing him again.

Sokka jumped into the scene. "Who do you think you are? You nearly crushed him! And what's with the slingshots?" He asked angrily.

The only boy in the group slapped the back of Li's head, and she went back to normal. "Thanks Chao." Li straightened herself out and cleared her throat. "I'm Li. I'm sorry for almost crushing you." She said, in a slightly cheery tone.

Katara stood up. Aang was able to recover on his own from this point. "Do I know you?"

Li looked at him strangely before something came to her mind. "Um, no. I uh, just knew your name…"

"Alright. Wait, you're an air bender? I thought they all died." Aang said.

"That's what I thought too. I'm from a northern air temple, and I haven't seen any air benders but myself. I lived there alone, until I decided to leave." Li said sadly. This though, wasn't true. Li was lying. It was this lie that would lead to terrible happenings.


	2. Stay for the Night

**Chapter Two: Stay for the Night**

Li lead Aang and company through the village. The village's name was apparently Yushii village. Very little of the village were Earthbenders, maybe five. One of those earthbenders was part of Li's gang. Chao- the one who had slapped the back of Li's head. He though, preferred the slingshot and sword.

Li showed them Prayer's Hill, where most people went to make a wish on a star, stargaze, or spend time with a loved one. It was considered the spiritual sanctuary of Yushii village. Katara liked it here.

"So, why'd you sling pastries at us?" Sokka questioned Li.

"Oh, that was to bring you down here. We didn't know if you were on a real flying bison, so we tried to get you to come down so we could see." She turned around and walked backwards so she could face them. She set her focus on Aang. She was about to speak when she was stopped by Sokka. "So, you're really an airbender?" he asked her. "Prove it."

'_As is my tattoo isn't enough' _she thought, a bit irritated. It'd really hurt at the part above her eye. She reached into her backpack, and pulled out what looked like a large circular fan. It had a wooden frame, and a base for her to stand on. The bottom was strong paper that allowed a breeze to run through. "Watch" she said, holding a finger in the air to test the air currents.

She threw the fan like a Frisbee and ran at it. She then jumped onto it, and started flying in the air like she was skateboarding. She went over the houses, showing off a bit, knowing that they'd never seen somebody fly like that. Most airbenders used staffs to fly. She wanted to be more original, thus the board came to be.

Li went back down to Earth, and jumped off the board. She grabbed it and stuffed it back in her backpack. "Do you want to go to the base? You'll be staying the night there." She asked, heading back on.

"Sure!" Aang said enthusiastically. Li stopped at a tree.

"I'm glad that you want to." She said. There was a boulder under the tree. It looked extremely heavy. Li gave it a little shove and it easily rolled out of the way. Behind it was what looked like a tunnel. "After you. I need to shut it" she said, stepping to the side.

Aang jumped down the tunnel headfirst. Cries of delight could be heard echoing back from him. Katara looked at Sokka and shrugged. She jumped down as well. Sokka didn't want to go down. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because if you don't, you'll be sleeping outside in the cold." She said, shooting him a glare.

Sokka looked away and crossed his arms. "I really think I can take the cold."

Li shrugged. "Suit yourself." She said sarcastically. She jumped into the slide. She sat there for a moment and snapped her fingers. Then she started to slide down. When she snapped her fingers a gust of wind blew by and knocked Sokka down, making him slide headfirst into the tunnel. Li's laughter could be heard echo through the slide.

The tunnel went on for a few yards, and then stopped at a room. The room looked like a normal home, aside from the fact that it was underground. It had sliding door walls that went into other rooms. It was lit by lantern and candle, but it seemed brighter than something a few feet underground should be. There was a stairway that led into another house. The room that they were in must've been in somebody's basement. Katara and Aang were sitting in the middle on a mat, waiting for Li and Sokka.

Li jumped out of the tunnel. She stepped aside so Sokka would have room to crash. She made no effort to help him up. "Well, welcome to my abode" she said in a welcoming tone. Sokka got up and dusted himself off, and shot a glare at Li, who had made herself look all innocent.

Sokka looked around. "This? This is your base? Where are all the weapons? All the ammunition?"

"In the other room." Li said, walking over to one of the walls. She pushed it aside, and in the room were baskets of pebbles, nuts, and other projectiles, a few swords, and some slingshot materials. "It isn't much, but it's what the adults let us have." She said with a sigh. Sokka gawked at it.

"Isn't much? This is…" he paused, trying to regain what little dignity he had left. "Less then what we have at our tribe." He lied. Li shut the door. She then walked over to another door and opened it. There were mats in it; the amount was what seemed to be ten.

She walked in and took three out. She laid two in the main room, and she put one in a private room that had a door that you could only see a silhouette in. She left the private room and shut the door behind her. She looked at Sokka, Katara, and Aang. "Sokka, Aang, you two will be sleeping in here. Katara, you'll be sleeping in the other room with Kai, Kanan, and Mistia. I'll be in here." She said, indicating the room behind her.

"How come you get a private room?" Sokka questioned her. "Because I own this place." She said simply.

"Good enough for me." Aang said. "When are your friends going to be here?"

"Soon. They're saying goodnight to their parents..." Li trailed off, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Xlo: Yay, another chapter! If you haven't already noticed, this chapter was longer than the first one. That's because I wanted to end the first chapter at a certain point, and that part came quickly.

Li: Why do you always make me say something untrue or sad? That's not my personality! You're putting me out of character!

Xlo: Ah hush yah fancharecter!

Li: Fancharecter? Why I outta! You're going down!

Xlo: I beleive I should run now!


	3. A Shapeshifter?

**Chapter Three: A Shapeshifter?

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**

Katara stepped forward, a hand extended to put on Li's shoulder. "Are you alright?" she said as she laid her hand on Li's shoulder.

Li looked at her. "I'm fine." She said meekly. She put her hand on top of Katara's and lifted it off. She turned around to go into her room. She paused for a moment and pointed to another door. "There's food in there." she then fell silent and opened her door. She stepped inside and shut it behind her without turning around.

Just as her door shut, Kai came out of the tunnel. Katara, Sokka, and Aang turned around to look at her. She stared at them until Kanan came out from the tunnel behind her, knocking her over. Kanan jumped up and helped Kai up. Aang couldn't help but giggle.

Kanan looked up after getting Kai up. "Oh, hiya. I guess you're staying here for the night. That's fine by me." she said cheerily. Chao and Mistia came out from the tunnel and greeted the group.

"Where's Li?" Chao asked, looking around. Sokka stepped aside from Li's door. Her silhouette could be seen in the corner of her room, sitting. He was about to go to her room when Mistia held an arm in front of him and shook her head. "Leave her be"

Then Kai cut in. "We should get to bed. It's late. The sun's gone already." She said.

They started to blow out the candles. Kanan told Li to put her lights out, and she did. Katara joined Kai, Mistia, and Kanan in the other room. Aang and Sokka lay in the mats. Chao preferred to sleep on the hard floor, using his hat for a pillow. They went to sleep.

* * *

It was the middle of the night. Maybe around 1:00 A.M. Sokka was sleeping the closest to Li's room. Then, something woke him up. It was a small light that was flickering gently. It was coming from Li's room. She'd lit a candle, but only one. 

Sokka sat up and rubbed his eyes. He got out of the mat to tell her to turn it out. But what he saw in her silhouette made him stop in his tracks. He saw her shadow change into a small animal, and then into a bird, and then back to normal. He jumped to the door and slid it open just as she changed into the small animal again.

Sokka was just about to yell something at her when something was placed on his mouth. It was her hand. She'd changed back to normal in the blink of an eye. He tried to speak through her hand but it was muffled.

"Shush. If you promise not to tell, I'll explain." She said, holding his mouth tight. He nodded, and she let go. He was about to speak when she shushed him again. "Not here." She whispered. "Follow me". She slipped through the main room and to the stairs. The stairs had a door at the top. She pushed it open quietly.

Sokka followed her out the door, and she shut it behind him, not making a sound. They weren't inside somebody's house. They were on Prayer Hill. The stars were still out, twinkling like they were candles. Li turned to face Sokka. "You might want to sit. It's a long story."

* * *

Xlo: A whole chapter to be exact. Heheh. 

Li: Once again, you make me say a line that has something to do with my history.

Xlo: Would you shut it already?

Li: I have freedom of speech!

Xlo: Not here you do!


	4. The Past

**Chapter Four: The Past

* * *

**

Li started to tell Sokka the story of why she was able to shape shift, and some other things that she'd been waiting to be able to spill to somebody. He listened intently, sitting on the ground.

"It was a hundred years ago when this all started. My monk, Guiszo, was teaching me dark bending. He'd taught me everything about it I know, including shape shifting."

* * *

"Now, picture the animal in your mind, and-"Guiszo instructed. He and Li were in a Northern Temple of the Air, on one of the balconies. Li was sitting on the edge of it, staring into space.

"Guizo, why did you teach me dark bending? " Li asked him. She was ignoring his lesson.

"Because you're my pupil, and it is my duty to teach you everything I know about bending. I have always been a dark bender, and now you are one as well."

"But aren't dark benders evil and tainted?" Li questioned him.

"Some of them, yes, but not all of them." He said sitting next to her. "We aren't evil. Do you feel evil?"

"Not really…" she said quietly. "But why don't the other air benders like me that much? Like they say that I'm only a dark bender, and that's all that I'll ever be."

"You shouldn't listen to them. They don't know what it's like to go through what you are. I have a bit of good news for you."

Li perked up. "You're getting me a bison?" she hoped.

"No Li. You're going to a Southern Temple of the Air to learn light bending with a friend of mine."

"Light bending? I thought that you can only learn dark bending or light bending. How am I supposed to learn light bending if I'm a dark bender?"

"It's because you're special. You're a descendant of the avatar who created them. She was Avatar Jui, an air bender. "

"Am I the avatar then?" Li asked him.

"No, a boy in a southern temple is"

* * *

"That must've been Aang." Sokka said.

"It was Aang, I knew him for some time, that's why I recognized him. Unfortunately I messed up on a light bending move and wiped out all his memories of me. That's why he didn't recognize me."

"And then hewas frozen in ice for a hundred years. Wait, how did you live that long? Shouldn't you be dead if all this happened a hundred years ago?"

"When my light bending training was almost finished, the fire nation attacked us. I never got to finish because my light bending master was killed in the battle. I was the only one left. Since I'm a dark bender, I'm immortal. I can live forever and look like a child until somebody kills me."

"How old are you now?" Sokka asked her.

"A hundred and thirteen." She told him.

"Who was your light bending master?" he asked, still questioning.

"Monk Tang. Before he died he taught me light bending."

"What lesson did you never learn?"

"How to bring peace between fighting parties." She said sadly. "I could've ended the war if I had only learned how to do it."

Li looked out towards the ocean. Tears were almost in her eyes for remembering these things. "I could've saved their lives! All of them! Then this war never would've happened!" she cried.

She noticed something on the horizon. It looked like a large black boat. She reached into her back pack and pulled out a telescope. She put it up to her eye and gasped. "Of all the rotten luck…" she murmured. "Fire nation. We need to ready the village for an attack. Come on!" she said, getting onto her air board and flying into the village.

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I edited this. Yay for editing. 


	5. Zuko Has Come

**Chapter 5: Zuko has Come

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**

"How long until we get there?" Zuko asked the helmsman impatiently.

"Just a few minutes, Prince Zuko" the helmsman replied. Zuko went off to prepare for the battle. Iroh sat at the bow drinking tea and playing a game with small wooden pieces engraved with the four known elements symbols.

Zuko went to the tip of the boat, leaning so far over the railing that he could've fallen in if he wasn't holding on tight enough to bend the bars. He could just never seem to get to his destination when he wanted too, which was always a few minutes ahead.

* * *

Li had grabbed a bowl that had been left outside somebody's house and a stick, and was beating it vigorously to wake everybody up. The villagers knew this sound, because it was what Li's group always used to signal each other for an attack. The quickly woke up and grabbed whatever weapon they had. Women and young children fled for the base, it being a secret place under ground, and therefore safe.

Sokka had gone back through the trapdoor to wake the others, finding them already awake and preparing quickly. They were setting up slingshots and filling their pockets and back packs with ammo. They each took a sword, making sure to keep it in its sheath until it was truly needed. Sokka took a sword, since he never really was good with a slingshot. Katara made sure that the women and children all got into the base, and the trap door was covered with grass to keep them from being found.

Li stood at the beach, awaiting the enemy. She watched as the ship was inches away from the shoreline, coming to a halt. The giant door began to come down. She held her ground without fear. She had a score to settle. She held her slingshot in front of her face, preparing to shoot the first fire bender she saw in the head.

The door hit the ground. Nobody was waiting to come out. She didn't know that she was being watched from the shadows of the entrance. She loaded her slingshot, waiting. A fire bender stepped out. She released her slingshot, the rock flying for his head. In a swift movement, the rock was in his hand.

Li stood there in disbelief until a large blast of fire was shooting towards her. She didn't have time to jump away. She held her arms in front of her, trying to shield the fire away. Something pushed her out of the way, throwing her to the ground. Whatever it was had gotten up and was running at the fire bender who had stepped off the ship.

Li sat up, spitting sand out of her mouth. She looked to see who had saved her from the fire. She only saw his back, but she knew who it was. It was Sokka.

More fire benders started to spill out of the ship and were heading toward the village. The very last one to step off the ship was Zuko, who had a smirk on his face. Sokka finished off the fire bender who had attacked Li and was now heading for the village to help protect it. Li got on her air board and went to join him.

Katara and Aang were in the fight, trying to keep the fire benders from getting into the village, but they were spilling in from all directions. The villagers were putting up a good fight, using their swords to defend their beloved home. Kai, Mistia, Kanan, and Chao were on the roofs, shooting the fire benders from each direction, leading them to confusion.

Li jumped off the board on Prayer Hill, defending it from the fire benders. Her air bending knocked them off their feet, for they didn't expect another air bender to exist.

The fire benders lay scattered and fleeing on the ground around Prayer Hill. Li had a bad burn on her left arm, but other than that, nothing serious. The fight was ending in the village as the fire benders were being pushed back to their ship. Li watched from the hill, not noticing somebody creeping up behind her.

That's when it hit her… A burning feeling surged across her back, making her scream in pain. Her clothes were charred, and her back was severely burned. She fell to the ground, head first. She weakly rolled over to see her attacker, wincing at the pain in her back. Zuko stood above her, an evil smirk across his face. Li stared at him with tears in her eyes from the pain.

Li put her hand to her chest weakly, still staring at him. Her hand began to glow white. Her weak body began to regain its strength; she was healing herself with light bending. Noticing this, Zuko kicked her hand off and grabbed her by her neck, lifting her up. She grabbed at his hand, trying to pull him off, but it was futile.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the rest rushed to Prayer Hill, but stopped when they saw Li in Zuko's grip. They knew he could burn her to a crisp if they did anything to help her. "Give me the avatar, or she'll fry"

"Li, you're stronger than this! You can get out of his grip!" Sokka said, trying to get her confidence.

She opened her eyes, but only halfway. She made a sad attempt at making a smile. "You're right. I can get out of his grip… And into his mind." She said placing one of her hands onto his forehead. Her hand glowed and he instantly dropped her. She stood on the ground, her hand still on his head. A pulse of black came from her hand and went across his body. He fell to the ground, and Li lifted her hand off of him. She turned to face the others. When suddenly…

* * *

**Xlo: Mwahahahaha! Cliffhanger! And I have safely locked Li in a closest so she can't comment here! I don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place!**


	6. Wounded yet Healed

**Chapter Six: Wounded yet Healed**

IMPORTANT NOTE! If any of you think that my story gets too violent in any chapters, tell me immediately. I can change it to something more suited for K+.

* * *

A blade of fire was thrust through Li's back. She instantly fell to the ground. Zuko was standing behind her, the fire disappearing in his palm. Her sneered at the fallen girl, and ran back to the ship.

"Coward!" Sokka screamed at him before rushing to Li.

"We have to get her to the base! C'mon! Hurry!" Kanan said, trying to get Li in her arms. Chao helped her, trying not to drop Li's head. They ran through the trap door, and brought Li into her room. It was hard to get through the frenzied women and children. Kai had to get them out of the base to help their husbands, fathers, and brothers.

After the women were gone, they could concentrate on Li's wounds. Mistia was busying herself getting bandages out of the weapon room. They had to get all her wounds wrapped before they got infected.

Li's head was propped up on a pillow. Katara was trying to comfort her as she slept fitfully. To wrap the wound that the blade has caused, they needed to lift her shirt. The task was placed on Sokka, for nobody else wanted to do it.

"Why do I have to do it?" he complained.

"Because… um, why does he have to do it?" Aang started.

"Just do it!" Kai yelled at him. She was surprisingly loud for a 3 foot tall ten-year-old.

"Fine!" he yelled at them. He looked away, trying not to see anything he shouldn't. He held the bandages in one had and reached to lift up her shirt. When Li felt his hand on her shirt and moving it, she woke up. She slapped him on the face, leaving a large red hand mark.

"Pervert!" she yelled at him, not realizing he was doing it to help her. She then winced and held her stomach in pain. "Augh… What happened?" Li said, putting her other on her head. Then her eyes opened wide. "Zuko! Where is he? Did we win?"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Sokka cried, rubbing his face.

"We won. But Zuko almost killed you." Mistia explained.

Li looked down at her chest and could see that she was bleeding heavily. She quickly put a hand on the wound, blocking the blood from spilling out. She started to heal herself. They watched in amazement.

"Li, why didn't you tell us you could do that?" Kanan asked Li. "We thought you were just an air bender."

"That's why I didn't tell you. I never wanted to be a dark bender. My monk taught me it. When the lessons started I was too young to stop him. He didn't know how he was cursing me."

The wound was healed, but the burn on her back was going to stay for a while. She couldn't heal that. She sat up, trying not to get the burn to scratch on anything. She looked at Sokka. "Sorry for the slap. It was a reflex" she said, with an embarrassed smile on her face. She reached out to heal it, and laid her hand on the red hand print.

Her hand glowed white and the hand print disappeared. 'Her fingers are really soft,' Sokka though to himself. She pulled her hand back and smiled. He blushed and looked at the floor.

* * *

"So, are you hungry?" Kai asked Li.

"I'm STARVED!" Li cried.

"Me too!" Sokka said enthusiastically. Kai got up to go into the food room, and came back with bread and berries. Katara, Aang, and Sokka split the bread evenly, and let Li have the berries. She needed to regain her strength so she would be able to go out into the village again. It was a few days after Zuko's attack, and Li was almost able to walk again. Kai was taking a day off to care for Li and the others.

Chao, Kanan, and Mistia were in the town helping the village women care for their injured loved ones. They weren't going to be back until nightfall.

Li started to get up. Katara was about to try to put her back down but she stepped out of the way. She stretched her legs out, rolling her feet around. She leaned against the wall. "Man that feels good. I've been sitting for days!" she said with a sigh.

Kai looked at her. "You sure you're okay?" she asked her.

"I'm fine. I'm going out for some fresh air." She said, leaving her bedroom. She was walking with a slight limp, but other than that she was fine. She went up the stairs to Prayer Hill. She stood on the hill, staring at the horizon, glad that she didn't see a fire nation ship. She stretched her legs out and thought of things she hadn't for a while.

She thought about the fight a few days ago, and she thought about the fire nation attack on the Southern Temple of the Air, and all the loved ones that she'd lost. She didn't enjoy the sadness that the thoughts brought her, but one thought made her happy.

How Sokka had saved her life from the flame, and how he'd tried to encourage he to get out of Zuko's grip. She felt a warm feeling inside her. She could feel her face getting warm and going red.

**

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**

**Xlo: Awww, Li's got a crush!**

**Li: I do not! (blushes)**

**Xlo: You do too!**


	7. Almost Lost

**Chapter Seven: Almost Lost**

* * *

Sokka had come through the trap door with an evil grin on his face. He was going to try to sneak up on her. He crept closer and closer to her, his hands ready to grab her and knock her down. He jumped at her, and knocked her down. She cried out in surprise. She shoved him off. 

"What is wrong with you?" she yelled at him angrily. Her face had turned a bright red. He brushed off his shirts and knelt down on the ground, smirking.

"Wow, you're easier to get worked up than I thought." He joshed.

"Don't EVER try to sneak up on me again!" she yelled at him. She was angry now.

"Jeeze, it was just a joke!" he said. He was surprised she'd get this mad.

"Don't make me throw you in a pit!" she threatened. She wasn't really going to do that. She didn't even know why she'd said that, it just slipped out.

Sokka stood up. "Lighten up!"

"I'll show you lighten up!" she yelled, sticking a hand in his face. A yellow light was starting to appear in her hand.

He stepped back in fear. He didn't know what she could do, and he didn't want to find out. She could seriously hurt him. He almost fell back as the ball of light grew and grew until it engulfed Li inside of it. Her clothes flapped about as if there was a wind, but there was nothing to blow them like that. Her eyes had gone black, including her tattoos.

The ball suddenly started to swirl with black, making it look polluted and diseased, instead of the pureness it used to have. Her dark bending and light bending was mixing together!

"Li! Stop!" Sokka pleaded with her. His screams could be heard from inside the base, and the others came rushing out. They stood there in shock. They couldn't believe what was happening. It was like what happened when Aang's avatar spirit was trigerred.

'_What am I doing? What's going on?' _were the words that Li was thinking. She couldn't believe what she was doing, or why she was doing it. Her mind was racing, and she was terrified. She could see Sokka's face, and couldn't bear it. She gathered her strength and focus tried to stop what she was doing. It was like something was taking over her body.

The swirling black started to disappear from the ball of light, and the ball of light started to shrink off of Li. Her tattoos and eyes stopped glowing as well. Her body fell limp onto the ground, and she was unconscious. Kai rushed to her and tried to get her back into the base. Sokka was frozen to the ground, still in disbelief and shock. They had to carry Li back to the base, but they didn't put her in her room. She just brought her into the main room and left her there with Katara. She and Aang went to get the others. They hoped they could help. The dragged Sokka into the base, with him being half petrified and all.

After they left, Li quickly woke up. She gasped in shock at the state that Sokka was in. She clasped her mouth with her hand, tears almost coming to her eyes. She shook him, trying to wake him up, but she didn't get a reply. He didn't even move much. She put her hand on his chest to feel for his heart beat. She could barely feel it, and his body was cold. She'd scared him half to death!

Tears spilled out of her eyes like a hurricane. "Sokka! No!" she cried, grabbing him in her arms. Small white lights came from her hands and soaked into his back, slowly, his stiff body became softer. He became warmer as well. His eyes blinked and looked around. He saw that he was in Li's crying arms. His entire face went red.

Li's eyes opened wide. She could hear his breathing, and she felt him warmer. She pulled away, and stared at him wide eyed. "Sokka!" she cried, grabbing him again. He tried to squirm out of her grip. He pushed her off.

Sokka rubbed his head. "Ugh, what happened? And why were you hugging me?" he asked her.

She blushed and tried to explain, but she was too embarrassed for words. "I-um-well you see…" she said, tripping over her words. "I-um- almost killed you." She said, trying to make it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal. It didn't work.

"WHAT?" he cried jumping up. "You've just gone from creepy to freakish Li! Congratulations!" He then ran off out the trap door. She got up and ran off to go after him.

"Sokka! Wait!" she called, trying to get him to stop. She wanted to apologize, but she didn't even know how to apologize to somebody after almost killing them.

"Leave me alone you dark bender!" he yelled with out turning around. He ran to the beach and to the edge of the dock. He sat on the edge and stared out at the ocean.

* * *

"_Leave me alone you dark bender!" said an air bender. All Li had wanted to do was play with the young boy, and he had rejected her like old cheese._

_Li, who was only seven at the time burst into tears and ran away. She hated being a dark bender, and being ridiculed for it. She wanted to turn into a bird and fly away, but unfortunately she hadn't mastered shape shifting yet.

* * *

_

This sad memory quickly flashed before Li's eyes, and it brought her to tears. This time though, she was able to change into a bird. With a swish of her hand she shrunk into a bird and she started to fly away. She flew towards the ocean, planning to fly back to her original home. The Northern Air Temple.

* * *

Xlo: The sadness! Oh the sadness! 

Li: Sokka…

Xlo: Oh, you poor thing…


	8. Found and Loved

**Chapter Eight: Found and Loved

* * *

**

_It's been a few days after Li left, and the group is in panic. They don't know why she would leave, or even if she had left willingly. Sokka can't help but feel guilty.

* * *

_

"Ugh! This is all my fault! If I hadn't sneaked up on her! If I hadn't called her a dark bender!" he yelled at himself, pacing through the main room. Katara kept trying to speak but he kept interrupting her. She finally took a stand.

"SHUT UP! Are you coming with us to find her or not?" she said, putting her hands on her hips. They were bringing their sleeping bags out to Appa. Sokka stood there dumbly before starting to help.

Once everything was packed, Sokka and Katara climbing into Appa's saddle and Aang sat on Appa's head. "Yip yip!" Appa flopped his giant tail and took of into the air. Li's friends stood in the town waving and shouting "Good luck!"

* * *

It took about a day to reach the temple. It was dark, almost 8:00. They decided to split up and search the temple. Aang went to the sanctuary, since he was the only one who could get in, Katara went to the balconies, and Sokka searched the lower level.

Aang went to the sanctuary door. It was a slight different design, but still had the trumpets. He used a swift hand movement and the three trumpets played a slow and rhythmic tune. The doors slowly opened. Aang could see a small flicker of light in the center of the room. He could also see a figure sitting near it. They looked tired and miserable. Also very hungry. He could tell because he could hear grumbles echo in the large room. He stepped forward to her.

She looked up at him. Her face looked tear stained and weak. She had a raggy blanket slung over her shoulders that looked like it was made very sloppily and quickly. She stood up, holding the blanket close to her body. She was shivering. All she had was that raggedy old blanket to keep her warm. Aang wasn't surprised to see her this way.

"Aang, i-is that you?" she said, shakily. Aang ran up to her.

"Li, why are you like this? Why are you here?" he questioned her. He was horrified at the condition she was in, but he tried not to show it. He looked at the statue behind her. It was an air bender, a woman. It had a resemblance to Li, but Li had a more rebellious fashion sense. There was a claw scratch on its face.

"I-I came back home. This is where I lived before." She noticed that Aang was looking at the statue. She faced the statue, glaring at it. "Avatar Jui. I'm her descendant. I hate her."

Aang woke up from staring at the statue. "Why?"

"All this is her fault. She created dark bending! If it wasn't for her I'd be a normal air bender! None of this would have happened. I wouldn't be a dark bender!" Li wanted to cry, but she knew that her eyes were sore from all that she'd been doing. Plus, crying made her feel like a baby and a weakling. She refused to cry.

Aang placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can make it better. Everything will be alright." He said, trying to calm her down.

"No. Nothing is going to be alright. Never…" she said, looking at the ground. "I just want to die to end all my suffering. Why couldn't Zuko have finished me off?" she cried. She ran out of the sanctuary and out onto a balcony. She stood up on it, preparing to jump. Sokka was below her on the lower level. He looked up and saw her there and gasped. He knew what she was about to do.

Aang started to run, trying to get there before she did it. But he was too late. She jumped, making no effort to save herself. She was falling straight towards Sokka. He held his arms out, scrambling around, trying to get in the right position to catch her.

In a few moments, she was in Sokka's arms. She had closed her eyes and was lying still, expecting to be dead. When she opened her eyes and saw Sokka's red face, she almost fell out of his arms. Her face went red being in his arms until she jumped out of them. "Why did you catch me?"

"What did you want me to do? Let you commit suicide?"

"Yes!" Li yelled at him.

"But I couldn't let you kill yourself!"

Li's anger dropped. "W-what?"

"Because…" his face turned incredibly red. He almost couldn't believe he was going to do it, but he did. He put a hand on her cheek and pulled it towards him in a kiss. Li stood there in shock, but didn't pull away. It was her first kiss. Finally Sokka broke off and looked her in the eyes. "That's why."

* * *

Xlo: Yay! I've finished! All I need now is the epilogue and then I'm done and I can get on with my life!

Li: Oh… Oh my.


	9. Epilogue: A Stowaway

**Epilogue: A Stowaway

* * *

**

Li had come back with them, but she stayed silent for most of the trip. She kept staring out at the ocean. Her eyes were glazed, showing that she was in deep thought. Sokka was sitting on the other side of Appa's saddle. His face was still red for a while. He didn't say much either. It was early morning when they returned.

The others were ecstatic that Li was back, and they let her stuff her face since she hadn't eaten in days. It didn't take long for the sparkle in her eyes to return. Her friends had been terrified, but they were glad that she was back. She didn't tell them about the kiss. Only she and Sokka knew about it, and she planned to keep it that way.

Katara, Aang, and Sokka decided to leave the next day. They knew it wasn't safe it stay in Yushii Village. Zuko could return any day to attack again. And this time, he would have reinforcements.

* * *

"Why do you have to go?" Kai whined. She didn't want them to go. She thought they were fun to have around.

"Would you rather your village go up in flames?" Sokka said.

"Well, no. I won't say I'd like that to happen." Kai said, admitting defeat in that matter.

"We'll miss you guys. Come back for a visit when all this is over, okay? Chao said with a smile.

"We'll be sure to come back!" Aang said cheerfully. He looked around. Li was nowhere to be found. "Hey, where's Li?"

They started to look around. Chao and the rest gave each other uneasy looks, but they knew where she was. "I guess she isn't here to say good-bye." Katara said with a sigh. "Oh well. I'm sure we'll see her again soon." Of course, she didn't know how soon.

They climbed into Appa's saddle and waved good-bye one more time before Appa lifted off of the ground. They flew over to the horizon and once again were back on their trail to the North Pole.

* * *

Sokka's stomach grumbled. "Man, am I hungry." He said. Suddenly, there was a pastry in the middle of the saddle. He sat there in shock. "What? But we're in the middle of the ocean. How can a pastry be-"he was interrupted by a popping noise. It sounded like buttons popping out of their places.

Something jumped onto the saddle. It was a small animal with very large ears and a horn in the middle of its head and two small bumps right next to it. It had large pointy hooves on the end of its feet, and a tail that looked like a puff. What were strange were the markings on it. They were similar to Li's.

Suddenly the animal disappeared an in its place was Li, sitting there like the animal had been. They all jumped at the sudden transformation. "You weren't going to leave me out of the action were you?" she asked them, standing up with a finger pointing in the air. "To- where are we going?"

"The North Pole" Katara said, still in shock.

"To the North Pole!" Li said, finishing her sentence. She then jumped down into the saddle and relaxed. The others regained their voice.

"How did you get on Appa without us noticing?" Aang asked.

Li looked at him with a dumb look. She suddenly shrank down to a tiny field mouse. It still had the same markings as Li did, and it didn't make a sound. She then changed back to her normal human form.

"Oh." he said.

"Well, I guess you can't go back. We're already too far away from Yushii Village. You might as well come." Sokka said. He was glad inside that she was coming. She looked over at him when Katara and Aang weren't and flashed him a smile. From then, he knew that this adventure would be better.

* * *

Xlo: Yes! We are done! End of story! But don't worry. I'll still keep my pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. I might not make a sequel though. But I probably will be making other stories. Probably still in the Avatar section. So be happy. Feel free to read and re 


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